Before Violet Evergarden became an anime series, it was originally an award-winning light novel series by Kana Akatsuki and illustrated by Akiko Takase. The story revolves around the character Violet Evergarden, a young woman who has only ever known the life of fighting, and being a deadly weapon of the military. But now since the war has ended, she must now learn how to live another type of life, as she is reintroduced into society. A life where she does not live by orders from others, but for herself which was her Major’s last wish before he went MIA. The story follows her on this journey, as she begins this new life working as an Auto Memory Doll (A profession where someone writes letters for people to send to other people), where she learns how to live among other people and understand these things called emotions that they convey.
This anime blew me away. There have been many that have touched me deeply, but this one is unlike any that I have seen in a long time. The animation, the main characters, the characters you meet along the way, the overall story from beginning to end, the music, the romance, and everything is so captivating. This is a slow-paced anime, so if you are a fan of fact paced and action driven anime, then this is most likely not your cup of tea. If you like slow pace anime, appreciate deep stories or want to try to see something different, then I highly suggest this anime. I will warn you that if you are a sensitive person, then maybe about 3 or 4 episodes in, you may want to keep some tissue nearby, because I believe that is when the emotional roller coaster of getting your heart torn out starts. The story is good about pulling you in, and overtaking you in each episode. The series can be found on Netflix with audio available in English, Japanese, Spanish, French and German and Subtitles available in English, Spanish, French, German an Italian. The series is 13 episodes long with a recently announced Movie project on the way. I will warn that if you are a fan of the novel series, that you may have trouble with the anime. I have not read the novel yet, but from what I have been told by other fans, the anime falls short of the novel mainly because of time skips, and certain parts overlooked. But as someone who is not a stranger to anime not matching their novel, or graphic novel counterpart, I usually never try to compare the two. So, as an anime alone, I still believe that it is good, and highly recommend watching it as soon as you get the chance.
Always Geeky Antoinette 